My husband, Steve, and I are an American couple who own an eco-friendly, budget hotel and café in Rome called The Beehive. We also operate an on-line agency for reservations in private apartments, B & B's and guesthouses in Rome, Florence, Venice, Paris and Barcelona. We moved to Rome in April 1999 and The Beehive was opened in May 1999 with the philosophy that our guests did not have to sacrifice comfort or cash for quality, budget accommodation. Our hotel has always been an extension of ourselves and reflects many of our own ethics and beliefs. As passionate environmentalists, we use only recycled paper products throughout, low consumption light bulbs, and environmentally friendly cleaning products. We grow our own herbs and compost in our garden. Our vegetarian café promotes the organic and fair trade movements and purchases from our local fair trade shop and we use only local, seasonal produce from a nearby organic farm. We host art exhibits and meetings of various local groups and offer yoga classes and massage. We strive for The Beehive to not just be accommodation for tourists, but to act as a community resource as well.

Our accommodation agency, cross-pollinate, began in 2001. Potential guests would often ask us for accommodation recommendations when there was a lack of availability at The Beehive. Developed because of this need, we now represent close to 300 personally chosen and inspected properties. We focus on private apartments, B & B's and guesthouses that authentically reflect the way people live in each city we represent.

Thrown into this mix were our three children who were all born here and attend a local private British international school. Giulia was born in 2000, Paloma in 2002 and Viola in 2006. We will begin home educating Paloma this coming school year as a grand experiment, and are looking forward to the challenge.

My husband and I thoroughly enjoy and adore what we do, but we are restless and curious at heart. At some point in time, we are hoping to spend some extended time in other countries, but as long as The Beehive is ours – Rome will be our home.